Elastomeric railway car side bearing

ABSTRACT

A railroad car contact side bearing of simple construction having an upright body member of rectangular plan form constructed of a hard elastomeric material such as polyurethane housed in a machined housing of cold-rolled steel anchored to the railway truck bolster below, and providing for the resilient support of the car frame when installed between the bottom of the body side bearing wearplate on the car body bolster and the top of the truck bolster side bearing pad for the absorption of vertical forces from car motion by the compressive travel thereof and the prevention of lateral shear deformation of upright body members of the side bearing when subjected to forces applied by the car thereto.

United States Patent Van Moss, Jr.

1 1 ELASTOMERIC RAILWAY CAR SIDE BEARING [76] Inventor: John H. VanMoss. Jr., 3 Mavor Ln., Highland Park. 111. 60035 [22] Filed: Dec. 3,1973 [21] Appl. No: 421.405

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Scr. No,283,044. Aug. 23,

1972, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. 308/138; 105/199 CB; 267/3 [51] Int. Cl 1361f 5/14; Floc17/10; Fl6f 1/54 [58] Field of Search 105/199 CB; 267/3; 308/138 [561References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,301,372 11/1942 Cottrell308/138 3,556,503 1/1971 Van Moss, .lr.... 267/3 1628,4154 12/1971 VanMoss. .lr.... 308/138 3,719,154 3/1973 Reynolds 308/138 3 735,711 7/1971Hassenauer .1 105/199 CB 1 1 June 10, 1975 3.796.167 3/1974 Van Moss,.lr 105/199 CB Primary E.raminer-M. Henson Wood, 1r. AsxislanlExaminer-Howard Beltran Attorney, Agent, or FirmRummler & Snow [57ABSTRACT A railroad car contact side bearing of simple constructionhaving an upright body member of rectangular plan form constructed of ahard elastomeric material such as polyurethane housed in a machinedhousing of cold-rolled steel anchored to the railway truck bolsterbelow, and providing for the resilient support of the car frame wheninstalled between the bottom of the body side bearing wearplate on thecar body bolster and the top of the truck bolster side bearing pad forthe absorption of vertical forces from car motion by the compressivetravel thereof and the prevention of lateral shear deformation ofupright body members of the side bearing when subjected to forcesapplied by the car thereto.

5 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JUN 1 0 I975 SHEET ELASTOMERICRAILWAY (AR SIDIC BEARING This is a continuation-in-part application ofmy copending application Ser. No. 283.044 tiled Aug. 23. 1972, nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the art of dynamicstabilization of all types of railway cars and particularly in transiton standard roadbcds by the absorption of energy of shock and thedampening and limitation of dynamic motion of the body of the car in thevertical, lateral and horizontal or swaying directions.

Side bearings embodying rollers movably mounted in a housing supportedon a truck bolster which are contacted by the car body are old. Also,some preloaded side bearings are known to utilize spring-loaded camsystems. Insofar as solving the problem of dynamic rocking motionresulting in derailment of railroad cars, and hunting, snubber membershave been used in conjunction with the springs between the truck bolsterand the side frame of the car. None of the foregoing have been found toprovide an inexpensive structure which will reduce the dynamic conditionwhich causes the car bodies to sway from side-to-side under self-excitedvibration and create a problem which is known in the railroad industryas resonant rock and roll." More specifically, this condition has beenencountered with high covered hopper cars and some high-side gondolascapable of carrying between 100 and 125 tons of material. These cars arenormally approximately the same length as the standard rail and with thestaggered joints between the rails and a forced resonant vibrationcondition, can be set up at some of the lower speeds of travel.

As now understood, this swinging of the car body from one side to theother contacts the side hearing which is located between the car bodyand the truck bolster. The forces are transmitted through the bolsterand into the spring group and the side frame of the truck. From there,the force goes to the car journals and onto the axles on the outboardside of the wheels of the truck. This causes the wheels and the rail onthat particular side to form a fulcrum point, lifting the wheel from thetrack on the opposite side Most of the time the wheels on the far sidereturn and make contact with the rail. In newer cars with larger loadsand greater exitation forces, the wheels, on returning to the level,miss the rail, causing derailments. A second condition which is causingderailments occurs when the dynamic rocking of the car becomes soviolent that the forces transmitted down through the truck bolsters andframe into the wheels are great enough to actually turn the rail over onthe tie.

Swinging of the car body from side-to-side also can result in lateraldirectional hunting of the truck which, if undampened and unlimited byconstant contact with a side bearing, leads to excessive wheel flangewear and centerplate wear.

Many designs of freight car side bearings have been tried in the lastfifty years. Most of these designs failed because they were toocomplicated and not made of resilient material capable of absorbing highdynamic forces of both long and short duration. Other designs failedthough made of resilient material because they were not adequatelysupported on the top of the truck bolster side bearing pad.

There is thus a need in the railroad industry for a low cost. preoadable, constant contact side hearing which retains its originalresilience throughout its life and which stabilizes the dynamic motionof a freight car in transit at all reasonable operating speeds and ratedcar loadings with non-linear load response action while limiting maximumtravel with steel controlled stops. Reduction of rocking of the car,lift of the wheels off the rail and lateral hunting of the trucks bymeans of position action shock control of the freight car motion throughthe use of such side bearings will reduce excessive wear of rail, wheeland equipment during life, and lead to trouble-free maintenance duringoperation and improve customer service relations from reduced damage tolading for sales.

It is thus an object of this invention to provide for energy-absorbing,elastic, constant contact truck side bearings satisfying the above need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The inventive concept involved in this improvedside bearing for railroad cars comprises a hard elastomeric sidebearing, preferably polyurethane of a hardness of at least 60 to Shore Dscale, an upright body member being positioned in a restraining housing,for maximizing of resilient energy absorption. A structural steelhousing may support the resilient absorber bearing in the four lateraldimensions, as well as from the bottom, and permit the absorption andstabilization of dynamic forces of car motion by compressive travelthereof which is resisted by non-linear load response from above, whileat the same time limiting compressive travel with steel controlledtravel stops and sidewise shearing movement from lateral forces appliedthereto. The housing itself functions as a mechanical stop for limitingboth the vertical compressive travel between the body side bearingwearplate and the truck bolster side bearing pad, and the lateral sheardeformation of the resilient absorber mounted therebetween.

With large capacity cars, with higher centers of gravity, loads at theside bearing are considerably increased in magnitude. Further, due tothe design and geometry of freight cars, the loads or reactions at theside hearing are not hammer blows, but rather have a definite dwellperiod. During this period of dwell, the constant contact side bearingis required to take as much, or more, of the car body weight as thecenter plate.

Not only must the truck side bearing take large vertical forces, but itis also called upon to take sizable lateral forces from the car body.The structural steel housing has the capacity to withstand these highlateral forces and to limit the lateral shear formation of the resilientabsorber contained therein and to stabilize lateral car motion resultingtherefrom.

Another object of this invention is to provide elastic truck sidebearings which provide toughness and resistance to abrasion and havingthe ability to absorb energy and to dampen the vertical, lateral,longitudinal and swaying shock forces having their origin in high speedand heavy load travel thereby preventing wear and tear on the rollingstock and the rails and roadbeds of the railroad.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of theresilient side hearing of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a truck bolster showing the resilientside bearing mounted thereon;

FIG. 3 is a fragmented top view of the truck bolster showing theresilient side bearing mounted thereon;

FIG. 4 is a fragmented side view of the car body and truck bolstersassembled on the center plate with the resilient side bearing mountedtherebetween com pressed from free height;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the tapered end upright member of thisinvention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmented cross-sectional view on the line 66 of FIG. 1 ofa resilient side bearing having a top of isosceles trapezoidal shapedcross-section mounted on an upright body member assembled within astructural steel housing;

FIG. 7 is a fragmented cross-sectional view of a modi fied form ofresilient side bearing having a rectangular shaped cross-sectionassembled within a structural steel housing.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the rectangular upright member of thisinvention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. I1 is a perspective view of another modified form of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 11', and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line l3l3 of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Side bearings 10 that are thesubject invention, as shown in FIG. 1, are horizontally mounted on thetop of a truck bolster l2 spaced equi-distant to each side of centerplate I4 thereon which is part of railway car bogie 16, as shown in FIG.2. A truck bolster side bearing pad 18 which is structurally integralwith the top of truck bolster l2 and spaced equi-distant by an amountequal to the spacing of side bearings 10 to each side of center plate 14provides the flat surface on which the base 26 of the side bearing 10 isbolted to the truck bolster 12, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. A bodybolster 20 is mounted atop center plate 14, as shown in FIG. 4. A bodyside bearing wear plate 22 is horizontally mounted on the under side ofthe body bolster 20 and also spaced equi-distant by an amount equal tothe spacing of side bearings 10 to each side of center plate 14 thereon.as shown in FIG. 4. An upright body member 34 which is part of andmounted within the side bearing It) bears on plate 22. The side bearing10 is preferably of a free height of 4% to 5% inches. The nominalvertical distance between the bottom surface of body side bearing wearplate 22 and the top surface of the truck bolster side bearing pad 18 isapproximately 5 inches so that when installed, the nominal verticalcompression of the side bearing 10 is about threefourths inches.

The side bearing I0 includes a hollow, generally rectangularly shapedsteel housing 24 having a rectangularly-shaped base 26, as shown inFIG. 1. Side walls 28 and 28' extend in perpendicular relation to andalong each lateral edge of the base 26 and the distance between theinner faces is about 3-5/16 inches. Side walls 28 and 28' turn partiallyaround and are shaped to become end walls 29 and 29' in encompassingrelation to the edge ofcaclt end ofthc l ltiwc 26 to provide a hollowsupporting structure within having access openings 27 and 27' atopposite ends thereof. The inside length of the housing 24 usually is oftuo lengths, namely about 9 inches and I2 inches. Bolt holes 30 and 30'extend through the base 2s. adjacent to thc opposite ends thereof, asshown in broken lines in FIGS. I and 3 and in cross-section in FIGS. 6and 7. and provide for the attachment of the housing 24 to the truckbolster l2. Flanges 32 and 32' having top surfaces which are in parallelrelation to and spaced abtn c the mounting bottom surface of the base 26are equally spaced a given distance up the side walls 28 and 28',respectively. and provide for a mechanical stop to vertical compressionof the side bearing 10, under extreme conditions. such as illustrated inFIG. 4.

In one tension of the side bearing III. as shown in FIGS. 1. 5 and 6, anupright body member 34, constructed preferably of a hard elastomericmaterial such as polyurethane having a hardness of at least 6(l9(l ShoreD scale. having a rectangular bottom section 36 and a top section 38which. though rectangular in plan form. is shaped as an isoscelestrapezoidal cross-section tapering upwards at both ends thereof whenviewed from the side. The top section 38 of the upright member 34 mountsintegrally onto the bottom section 36 and the top of the top section 38extends above and out front between the top surfaces of flanges 32 and32' of the steel housing 24, as shown in FIG. I. Spaced side faces 42and 42' establish the lateral width of the upright body 34 as uniform indimension so that the upright body 34 fits snugly within the spaceddistance between the inside dimension between the side walls 28 and 28'of the steel housing 24. This provides lateral support to the uprightbody 34 for resisting shear deformation thereof from lateral car forcesapplied thereto. The length of the upright body 34 has a dimension thatfits loosely within the spaced distance of the inside di mension betweenthe shaped turned end-walls 29 and 29 on opposite ends of the steelhousing 24. Champers 37 at the four corners ofthe rectangular bottomsection 36 permit the easy assembly of the bottom section 36 of theupright member 34 within the spaced distance between turned end-walls 29and 29' on opposite ends of steel housing 24. Vertically spaced anddownwardly extending threaded studs 44 (only one being shown) are moldedin and adjacent to the opposite ends of upright body member 34 andsecure the upright body member 34 to the base 26 within the steelhousing 24. as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 6. The same studs 44 arespaced to extend through pre existing spaced bolt holes 30 and 30',respectively. as shown in FIG. 3, located in the truck bolster, toattach the side bearing II] to the pad 18 on the truck bolster.

Another version is the side bearing 10'. as shown in FIG. 8, whichcomprises a rectangularly shaped upright body member 34' having opposedends 50, side faces 48 and 48, top 47 and bottom SI. preferably con'structed of a like hard elastomeric material such as polyurethane of atleast (it) to Shore D scale hardness which is of overall rectangularsection 46. The bearing 10' is placed within the hollow of rectangularlyshaped steel housing 24. The lateral width between the spaced side faces48 and 48' of the upright body 34' fits snugly within the spaceddistance between the inside dimension between the side walls 28 and 28'of the steel housing 24. This provides lateral support for the uprightbody 34 for resisting shear deformation thereof from lateral car forcesapplied thereto. The length of the upright body 34' has a dimension thatfits loosely within the spaced distance of the inside dimension betweenthe shaped turned end-walls 29 and 29' on the opposite ends of the steelhousing 24. Molded-in threaded studs 49, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, arecentrally disposed in and horizontally extend outwardly from each of theopposed ends 50 of the upright body 34'. Crossplates 52 extend laterallyacross the width of steel housing 24 over the openings 27 and 27' in theopposite ends thereof, as shown in FIG. 7. Only one crossplate isillustrated but the opposed one is identical to the one shown in FIG. 7.Bores 54 are centrally disposed in the crossplates 52. Studs 49 extendthrough the bores 54 of the crossplates 52. Nuts 56, when tightenedagainst crossplates 52, bolt the studs 49 to the crossplates 52 and tothe steel housing 24 therebetween and secure the upright body member 34'therein. The

usual bolts 58 extend through the spaced bolt holes 30 and 30 and attachthe side bearing to the truck bolster.

The elastomeric bearings in both embodiments are thus anchored securelywith the housing 24.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 9-13, it is desired to merely place arectangular piece of polyurethane 60 of from 50 to 90 on the Shore Dscale in the interior of the housing with the length and width beingsubstantially the same as the inner length and width of the housing 10,with the height thereof being the same as in the other embodiments.

In FIGS. 9 and 10, the length of the polyurethane is approximately8-9/16 inches having cutouts 61 in the bottom surface and extendinginwardly a sufficient amount to accommodate a portion of the head of thetiedown bolt 58, as shown in FIG. 7.

in FIGS. 11 through 13, the block 62 of polyurethane being longer toaccommodate the larger size housing is provided with a pair of bores 63and 64 to fit over the heads of the usual tiedown bolts which are spacedon 8% inch centers to accommodate the threaded apertures in the truckbolster 12. These dimensions are standard in railway cars.

The interior of the polyurethane may be partially hollowed out andfilled with a less expensive material such as a block of polyethylene,as shown at 65.

I claim:

1. A side bearing for mounting on a truck bolster of a railway car bogiecomprising:

a. a hollow structural housing having an open top, side, bottom and endwalls, said end walls having straight vertical walls extending upwardlyfrom said base and the upper ends of said walls arcuately taperedinwardly and b. an upright body member of hard elastomeric mate rialhaving a top extending upwardly and outwardly of the housing and themajor portion of the body member snugly fitting thereinsaid body memberhaving a bottom wall and end walls extending upwardly in a verticaldirection from the bottom wall and then tapered inwardly towards thetop.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein a bolting means extendsdownwardly from said body member with the upper end of said meansembedded in said body. said bolt means securing the housing and uprightbody member to the truck bolster.

3. A side bearing as set forth in claim 1 wherein the upright bodymember comprises:

a. a horizontally flat bottom surface,

b. vertical spaced side faces extending upward from said base.

c. spaced end faces tapering upward from said base,

and

d. a bolting means including a head and a shank extending downwardlyfrom the bottom of said body member for securing the upright member tothe base member of the housing. said head and a portion of said shankembedded in said body member.

4. A side bearing as set forth in claim 3 wherein the upright membercomprises:

a. a horizontally flat bottom surface b. vertical spaced side faces andend faces extending upwardly from said base. and

c. a bolting means partially embedded in and extending outwardly fromeach of opposed end faces for securing the upright member to thehousing.

5. A side bearing as set forth in claim 4 wherein the bolting meanscomprises:

a. threaded studs extending outwardly from the opposed end faces of theupright member,

b. bored crossplates extending laterally across the access openings atthe opposed ends of the steel housing mounted on each of the studs, and

c. threaded nuts securing said bored erossplates on said threaded studs.

1. A side bearing for mounting on a truck bolster of a railway car bogiecomprising: a. a hollow structural housing having an open top, side,bottom and end walls, said end walls having straight vertical wallsextending upwardly from said base and the upper ends of said wallsarcuately tapered inwardly, and b. an upright body member of hardelastomeric material having a top extending upwardly and outwardly ofthe housing and the major portion of the body member snugly fittingtherein, said body member having a bottom wall and end walls extendingupwardly in a vertical direction from the bottom wall and then taperedinwardly towards the top.
 2. The device according to claim 1 wherein abolting means extends downwardly from said body member with the upperend of said means embedded in said body, said bolt means securing thehousing and upright body member to the truck bolster.
 3. A side bearingas set forth in claim 1 wherein the upright body member comprises: a. ahorizontally flat bottom surface, b. vertical spaced side facesextending upward from said base, c. spaced end faces tapering upwardfrom said base, and d. a bolting means including a head and a shankextending downwardly from the bottom of said body member for securingthe upright member to the base member of the housing, said head and aportion of said shank embedded in said body member.
 4. A side bearing asset forth in claim 3 wherein the upright member comprises: a. ahorizontally flat bottom surface, b. vertical spaced side faces and endfaces extending upwardly from said base, and c. a bolting meanspartially embedded in and extending outwardly from each of opposed endfaces for securing the upright member to the housing.
 5. A side bearingas set forth in claim 4 wherein the bolting means comprises: a. threadedstuds extending outwardly from the opposed end faces of the uprightmember, b. bored crossplates extending laterally across the accessopenings at the opposed ends of the steel housing mounted on each of thestuds, and c. threaded nuts securing said bored crossplates on saidthreaded studs.